So, the rumors are - apparently - wrong, and Dominic Monaghan's Charlie will not be returning to Lost for its final season (Unlike Emile De Ravin's Claire), because he'll be busy elsewhere on ABC's drama schedule. But where?
Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello was told by ABC that Monaghan's appearance in a recent trailer for ABC's upcoming 2009-9010 season doesn't mean that he's returning to Lost, as many - including Ausiello himself - has presumed. Instead, according to the network, he'll be joining another hour-long drama on the channel... but it's supposed to be a surprise, so they won't say which.
Thankfully, we already know what dramas the network have planned - thanks, network upfronts - so it's just a matter of guessing whether he'll be showing up on Castle, new crime procedural The Forgotten, Eastwick, Flash Forward, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Ugly Betty (It's an hour-long show, but surely it doesn't count as a drama?), or mid-season shows The Deep End, Happy Town or V. While I'm all in favor of actors stretching themselves, I think watching the career of Monaghan (Lord Of The Rings, Lost, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and a Chuck guest-shot) shows that he knows that his bread is buttered on the geek side, meaning that Flash Forward and V are the most likely candidates to bring a short pouty Brit into their fold. Add in that his joining the cast (as a series regular) is, according to Ausiello, meant to be "a big surprise," and I'm putting my money on his ending up an alien in V before too long.
Of course, now that I've said that, he'll turn up as McDreamy's brother in Gray's Anatomy.